9-Step Roadmap
Work through each step in order. Tick them off as you go — your progress stays on this device only.
Know the task
Goal: Understand exactly what the IA asks before you choose anything.
Do this: Read the requirements: a business research project about a real, current issue facing ONE organization, viewed through ONE of the four key concepts; 1,800 words maximum; 3 to 5 supporting documents; assessed on criteria A to G for 25 marks; the same task for SL and HL. Read the IB Business Management Guide and your school's deadlines.
Avoid this: Starting to write before you have read the criteria.
Done when: You can explain the task in two sentences.
Choose your key concept
Goal: Pick the conceptual lens that will shape your whole project.
Do this: Explore the four concept guides (Change, Creativity, Ethics, Sustainability) and try a few Case Studies tagged with each. Choose the one that genuinely interests you, because you will live with it for weeks.
Avoid this: Choosing the concept last, or only mentioning it once.
Done when: You have chosen one concept and can say why in one sentence. You know it must be clearly shown on your title page.
Find a real organization and issue
Goal: Choose a real, current issue facing a single organization.
Do this: Shortlist 2 or 3 real organizations you can research well. For each, check that enough good information exists (reports, news, data). You may discuss industry-wide issues that affect your organization, but keep your focus on one organization.
Avoid this: Choosing a fictional business, several organizations, or an issue with no accessible sources.
Done when: You can state the issue in one sentence and you know where your information will come from.
Write your research question
Goal: Turn the issue into a focused question you can answer in 1,800 words.
Do this: Your title must be a question, either forward-looking (what should the organization do?) or backward-looking (was that decision effective?). Use the Question Workshop to adapt a stem, then run the question health check and discuss it with Mr. Coleman.
Avoid this: A question that is too broad, too vague, about several organizations, or answerable with a quick yes or no.
Done when: Your question passes the health check and your teacher agrees it is workable.
Choose 3 to 5 supporting documents
Goal: Select the sources that will give you most of your information.
Do this: Choose documents that show a RANGE of ideas and views. All must be recent (published within 3 years before you submit). At most one may be a transcript of video or audio from a reliable organization. If you do primary research, plan a questionnaire, interviews, or survey and keep a blank copy and a results summary. Use the Document Tracker.
Avoid this: Three to five documents from one company, or several similar surveys, which lack balance.
Done when: The Document Tracker shows no warnings.
Choose your tools and theories
Goal: Match your issue to business tools and theories that fit your evidence.
Do this: Use the Tool Matcher to find suitable tools (for example SWOT, STEEPLE, Ansoff, investment appraisal, ratio analysis, stakeholder mapping). Choose tools that help answer YOUR question, and plan how each will connect to your key concept.
Avoid this: Naming tools without applying them, or choosing tools just because they sound impressive.
Done when: Each tool is linked to a specific part of your question.
Plan and draft
Goal: Outline, set a word budget, and write your analysis and evaluation.
Do this: Plan your introduction (context, the issue, and your methodology if you used primary research), your main body (findings from your documents, analyzed with tools and the key concept, then interpreted and evaluated), and your conclusion. Set a word budget and keep your own draft in your own document.
Avoid this: Describing what happened instead of analyzing and evaluating it.
Done when: You have a complete draft within 1,800 words.
Check against criteria A to G
Goal: Use the criteria as your revision guide.
Do this: Work through the Criteria Self-Check one criterion at a time. Make sure your conclusion explicitly answers the research question and adds no new facts or arguments. Revise, then check again.
Avoid this: Revising only for spelling and grammar.
Done when: Every criterion is marked 'Yes' or has a clear plan to fix it.
Final checks and submit
Goal: Make sure nothing required is missing.
Do this: Use the Submission Checklist: title page with the research question, key concept, and word count; accurate table of contents; headings; page numbers; 3 to 5 supporting documents with relevant parts highlighted; references throughout; complete bibliography; blank questionnaire and results summary if you did primary research. Submit the way your school instructs.
Avoid this: Discovering a missing item an hour before the deadline.
Done when: Every item is ticked.